Countywide Sales-Tax Hike For Parks On Nov. 6 Ballot

SONOMA COUNTy, CA – Voters in Sonoma County will consider Measure M, a 10-year, one-eighth cent countywide sales tax for improvements and maintenance of county regional parks, trails, open space preserves and city parks.

The special tax would raise about $12.3 million annually. It is intended to supplement existing funding and not supplant an agency's general fund except in limited specified circumstances.

Two-thirds of the proceeds would go to Sonoma County Regional Parks for maintenance, safety, services for recreation, improving access to trails and open spaces and protecting natural resources. One-third of the tax
revenue would be divided among the nine cities. Santa Rosa parks would get about $2 million a year.

Sonoma County Regional Parks and each incorporated city will be required to prepare an annual report on the projects funded by the tax, which would be collected by merchants starting April 1, 2019. The measure needs two-thirds approval.

Former Sonoma County Parks Director Caryl Hart and other proponents say park usage has increased dramatically over the past several years, and older parks with a backlog of maintenance will be renovated under Measure M.

Proponents also say the tax hike is a modest investment, and city and county parks are the core of the county's quality of life and have contributed to its resilience and recovery after the wildfires.

The Sonoma County Taxpayers Association's executive director Daniel Drummond opposes Measure M. He argues Measure M contains the core defects that led to the defeat in 2016 of a tax for Sonoma County Regional Parks.

Drummond said tax measures in the county are paraded before voters every election cycle because county officials have not reigned in pension costs. County voters also have been asked recently to approve additional
taxes for libraries, roads, and transient occupancy, Drummond said.

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